Radio North 2000 was a shortlived rebranding of the Donegal pirate Radio North as it approached the millennium. The name change was implemented after the station was taken over by Paul Barnett (RIP), who previously ran another Donegal pirate WABC, and American Mike Dobbins (RIP). The format moved away from the previous Irish country music diet and was replaced by American country, oldies and some contemporary. One DJ, Steven Lynch, recalls being unhappy with the new name as it was not clear what the station would be called once the year 2000 arrived. It later reverted to the original Radio North after the departure of Mike Dobbins.

This recording of Radio North 2000 features an unidentified DJ signing off at the end of her evening show, followed by continuous music interspersed with plenty of station liners and adverts, some of which are voiced by Paul Barnett. The music consists of pop and chart hits with some oldies.

The tape was made in Scotland by Ken Baird from 846 kHz AM on 16th May 1998 from 1942-2112 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar. Thanks to Steven Lynch for background information.

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This recording was made during the second week of broadcasting of the Cork pirate Radio City, that came on the air in September 1980. It features snippets from a variety of daytime and evening programmes, including Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan) with Afternoon Delight, Paul Cassidy with the Golden Hour and Tony Walsh with new music until midnight. Many DJs refer to their gigs in local hotels or nightclubs, which was common among pirate radio presenters anxious to supplement their income in the lean 1980s.

The recording was made on Wednesday 10th and Friday 12th September 1980 from 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres, and is courtesy of Lillian O’Donoghue.

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Metro Radio was a small short-lived AM pirate station broadcasting from Clontarf on the northside of Dublin in 1983. Anoraks UK first logged it on 1557 kHz on 31st May but it does not appear consistently in listings and seems to have been an irregular or hobby rather than a full-time operator. The same frequency was also used by another irregular pirate, Diamond Radio, around this time and indeed Diamond reoccupied 1557 kHz in 1984 after the apparent demise of Metro Radio by the end of 1983.

This short airchecked recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 1557 kHz, announcing 192 metres, between 1300-1500 on Sunday 16th October 1983. The DJ is John Young and only one advert is heard during the broadcast.

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This recording of Donegal pirate Radio North was made in the summer of 1997 and shows how the station continued to generate significant advertising revenue many years after the enactment of the new broadcasting laws. Up first is Steven Lynch, who continues to present on the station to this day, with the end of his mid-morning show. He is followed at lunchtime by Norman Dougherty of Derry pirate Riverside 101 and its licensed successor Q102.9. The music is a mixture of country and Irish, oldies and pop or chart. Long commercial breaks feature adverts for businesses almost exclusively from the North, some of which are voiced by Paul Barnett (RIP), who would go on to take over the station in later years.

The tape was made between 1256-1338 on Thursday 17th July 1997 from 104 FM. There is plenty of fading as it was recorded some distance from the transmitter. Thanks to Rodney Neill and Ian Biggar for the donation.

The post Border series: Summer sounds on Radio North from 1997 appeared first on Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive.

Pat O’Rourke, also known as ‘The Smurf’, was one of the popular DJs on the early Cork pirates. Heard initially on the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC), his show had a huge following as reflected in its large weekly mailbag. Pat joined Radio City when it began broadcasting in 1980 and this recording features part of his first show on the new station.

The recording was made on 6th September 1980 from 2030. Audio quality is poor for the first part as it was made by placing a tape recorder against an AM radio. The second part was recorded from 95.5 FM using a radio-cassette recorder and seems to have been made at a later date. Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the donation.    

The post ‘The Smurf’ on Radio City Cork appeared first on Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive.

Wicklow Community Radio began as a temporary festival station in the summer of 1982, but due to its success soon became a full-time operation. In 1985, it changed its name to Wicklow Local Community Broadcasting (WLCB) and in 1987 it was relaunched as Viking 105, with a more commercial focus.

This recording begins with the Top 30 countdown and the number 1 record, presented by Gerry Lang. This is followed by Willie Naughton’s Sunday Special show featuring album tracks. Voices on adverts include those of Scott Williams and David Harvey, both of whom would become big names on 1980s pirate radio and who continue to work in the media industry to this day. An announcement of a festival in east Wicklow includes a reference to the popular Radio Nova disco roadshow! The station signs off for the night with a bilingual announcement at 1900.

This airchecked recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 1512 kHz AM, announcing 198 metres, on Sunday 4th September 1983 between 1700-1900.

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By 1997, Radio North was still broadcasting from Inishowen in east Donegal, aiming its diet of country and Irish music at Northern listeners. This tape from summer that year begins with the final part of a show presented by Connie Cooper (RIP), followed by Big Bad Jon (Jon Knox) with more music despite problems with a temperamental CD player. There’s plenty of chat between Jon and another DJ in studio, ranging from hair dye to turkeys! Despite the passage of almost a decade since the new broadcasting legislation, there is no sign of a lack of advertising on Radio North. Copious adverts are heard, mostly from the North, as well as requests from both sides of the border.

The recording was made from 846 kHz AM on 18th May 1997 from 1850-2020 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.

The post Border series: plenty of requests and adverts on Radio North appeared first on Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive.

A new Cork pirate, Radio City, was launched on 31st August 1980. This recording is of the first full day of the station and begins with station co-founder Pete Andrews (O’Neill) with his Spinning Disc lunchtime show. The show includes a repeat of part of the launch the previous day. News headlines are delayed by technical problems but it is clear that Radio City had big plans, including daily sponsored programmes. Pete is followed by Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan) with Afternoon Delight, including various features such as a quiz and entertainment diary. Next up is Noel Evans (Welch) with Home Run, including traffic news and racing reports. Co-author of the history of the Cork Pirates, The Jolly Roger, Noel had a day job with the Evening Echo newspaper but worked in the pirates on the side, first CBC and then Radio City. He also played music in several nightclubs like many pirate DJs. The final DJ is Paul Cassidy with part of an evening show.  

This airchecked recording of Radio City was made from around 1200 on 1st September 1980 from 1512 kHz AM, announcing 199 metres. Only one advert is heard but the commercial breaks may have been edited out. Audio quality is fair to poor as the recording was made by placing a tape recorder beside a radio, rather than using a cassette recorder. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

The post Early Cork series: First full day on Radio City appeared first on Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive.

Radio Leinster was a specialist and speech station broadcasting from Dublin between 1981 and 1983. This short airchecked recording features the end of a Sunday night love songs show presented by Lawrence John, who was involved in pirates in Dublin and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. Lawrence is followed by Dave Couling with his laid-back Midnight Magic show until 0200.

The tape was made from 93 FM from around 2200 on Sunday 12th December 1982 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. Radio Leinster also broadcast on 738 kHz AM (406 metres).

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As was often the case in long-running pirate radio stations, Radio North has seen splits and offshoots in its almost 40 years on air. One such split led to rival station North Atlantic Radio, that went on air in November 1989 and continued for 2 years in direct competition with Radio North. It was not sustainable to keep two similar stations on air in the Inishowen peninsula and Radio North closed down sometime near the end of 1991, leaving North Atlantic unopposed. However, on 31st January 1994, North Atlantic reverted to the original Radio North name and has continued without significant break to the current day.

The recording of a lunchtime show was made in August 1994 and features DJ Wes with requests from both sides of the border and long commercial breaks for businesses in Donegal, Derry and Antrim. The familiar musical diet consists of country and Irish and gospel songs, including one sung by Wes himself and the Radio North anthem with the singing farmer John Watt. The show also includes the Radio North community noticeboard.

The tape was made from 846 kHz on 17th August 1994 between 1400 and 1500. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.

The post Border series: lunchtime on Radio North appeared first on Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive.